By Ahmad Hathout
Iristel and Bell are again in front of the CRTC about a disagreement over the repayment of amounts owed to the large telco, according to a Part 1 filing made public this week.
Iristel is asking the regulator to force Bell to withdraw a February 21 telephone service disconnection notice, effective March 3, and to accept its plan to pay back amounts it owes. The far north provider said it has been “willing to enter and honour a reasonable deferred payment agreement,” but says Bell has allegedly rejected the proposal.
The CRTC said in a June 27 decision…
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Just the latest company to request a bump up in carriage fee
By Ahmad Hathout
Vues & Voix is asking the CRTC to add three cents to the monthly wholesale carriage fee commanded by its 24-hour radio station Canal M to maintain programming and avoid laying off much-needed paid staff, according to an application made public Thursday.
The company says the station, which creates content for visual- and hearing-impaired Canadians, is facing a “perfect storm” of lower revenues from cord cutting, a higher cost of living, aging digital infrastructure that needs an upgrade, and an increasing population of vulnerable people who have…
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The CRTC on Thursday launched a proceeding into the possible replacement of an existing AM station in Wingham, Ontario using one of the last known FM frequencies in the area.
The commission is seeking comments, due April 7, on the market capacity and the appropriateness of issuing a call for radio applications to serve the area.
The proceeding follows an application by Blackburn Media Inc. to operate an English-language FM station on the 104.3 MHz frequency, instead of its existing AM facility, which it said has experienced failing equipment and infrastructure that are expensive to maintain.
In the event there is no…
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Telus and Rogers have reached a distribution agreement for the latter’s new Food Network, HGTV, Discovery, Investigation Discovery, Bravo and Magnolia channels.
Telus announced Wednesday its Optik TV customers are now getting an exclusive free preview of Rogers’s premium lifestyle and entertainment channels until April 14.
Starting April 11, Optik TV customers will be able to add the individual channels to their existing plan for $5 each or choose from two theme packs: Food & Home for $10 per month, which includes Food Network, Magnolia Network and HGTV; or Discovery & Reality, also $10 per month, which includes Bravo, Discovery and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Federal Court of Appeal on Tuesday granted Rogers its request to appeal two decisions of the CRTC that froze its ability to move certain Corus channels in its cable packages.
Rogers had provided notice that it was terminating its carriage agreement with Corus by the end of 2024 and, as part of that, wants to remove Corus’s Slice from certain television packages and replace the media company’s Flavour and Home networks with its own Food Network and HGTV so customers, it says, are not scrambling to find the American programming it…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell is accusing the CRTC of putting the cart before the horse when it ordered new pole attachment obligations without first updating the cost for competitors to put their equipment on its structures.
In late January, the CRTC imposed on the legacy telcos – Bell, Telus, and SaskTel – new obligations to speed up the ability of competitors to attach their broadband equipment to the poles: absorb the full cost of “corrective work” or getting poles up to compliance standards; schedule both make-ready and corrective work together on strict timelines set by the commission in…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC did not establish that it has jurisdiction over long-distance calls from correctional facilities when it ruled it doesn’t regulate those rates, opening the door for provincial courts to make conflicting determinations on proper charges in civil actions, according to applications filed by the province of Ontario and Bell.
The regulator released a decision in December clarifying that it has not regulated inmate long-distance calls since 1997, and that it does not have the authority to adjust rates that were charged by Bell on a retroactive basis.
The decision followed an application…
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Regulator also designates small ILECs as ONPs
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC on Friday extended by two years the deadline to decommission the legacy 911 system, after public safety groups said they wouldn’t be able to make the March 4, 2025 deadline to implement the new system.
The regulator said a majority of proceeding intervenors – including the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Paramedic Chiefs of Canada – said they would not be able to implement the system by this week.
The CRTC has now set March 31, 2027 as the deadline for the…
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Regina’s community radio station, 91.3 FM CJTR, has officially rebranded as AccessNow Community Radio, according to a press release Thursday.
The news follows the CRTC’s approval of the sale of the station to AccessNow in December. AccessNow says, since the approval, it has retained two full-time staff and hired a sales executive. The station generates money through advertising and sponsorship revenues, it says in the release.
Tracey Mucha, Access’s senior manager of community engagement, said the company is “excited to offer businesses new and innovative advertising opportunities, responding to the growing demand for local content and more dynamic advertising solutions as…
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The CRTC has approved My Broadcasting Corporation (MBC)’s purchase of four Bell Media radio stations in eastern Ontario.
The stations include CFJR-FM (Move 104.9) and CJPT-FM (Bounce 103.7) in Brockville and CFLY-FM (Move 98.3) and CKLC-FM (Pure Country 99) in Kingston.
Based on a proposed transaction value of nearly $1.87 million, MBC will be required to pay a total of $111,936 in tangible benefits over seven consecutive broadcast years to various funds, including Canadian Starmaker Fund, Fonds RadioStar, FACTOR, Musicaction, the Community Radio Fund of Canada, and any eligible Canadian content development initiative of MBC’s choosing.
MBC has said…
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